#7 Tampa Drops Eckerd In Home Finale

TAMPA, Fla. - The No. 7 University of Tampa (25-4, 12-3) volleyball team made quick work of Eckerd College (20-12, 8-7), beating them 3-0 in the regular season home finale. Tampa won all three sets by scores of 25-18.

The first set was a close battle as there were 15 tie scores and eight lead changes. Tampa would then go on a 6-0 run on the strength of three services aces by senior Gabriela Saade to seal the first game. The second set saw Tampa lead as much as eight and finished with a seven point advantage. The final set went the same way as Tampa rode Vanderhall's six kills to win the match.

The Tampa offense was led by Vanderhall who finished the match with 13 kills. Senior Danielle MacDonald and freshman Eva Dupay tallied seven and five kills, respectively. UT notched 10 service aces as Saade and Vanderhall had three each. Meghan Sherman turned in a team high 18 assists while splitting duty with Saade who had 15. The Spartans recorded a .283 attack percentage and held the Tritons to just .078.

Senior libero Camila Saade led the Spartan defense with 11 digs as she was the only UT player with double figure digs. Eckerd held the edge in total digs with 37, opposed to UT's 36. Tampa finished with 11 team blocks on the strength of Vanderhall's five solo blocks.

UT will play their final regular season game this Saturday as they travel to Boca Raton to play SSC opponent Lynn. The match is set to start at 4 P.M. UT will offer live stats and a webcast through www.tampaspartans.com. Fans may also sign up for eScores through the website, a free service that sends text messages on Spartan athletic events.